Ariana Grande and Mogwai lead a stellar week in new music

Ariana Grande illustrates once again that she is an unparalleled pop chameleon on Sweetener, while KIN splits the difference between late-period Mogwai and the band’s previous film work, and Midori Takada & Lafawndah pair up for the tightly conceived and elegantly performed Le Renard Bleu. Plus Interpol, The Lemon Twigs, and NOTHING in this roundup of new releases.
Dev Hynes’ fourth album as Blood Orange, Negro Swan, is also out today; look for our review early next week.
Ariana Grande, Sweetener
[Republic]
Grade: B+
Ariana Grande’s fourth album, Sweetener, begins with a brief a cappella interpolation of the Four Seasons’ “An Angel Cried.” The 37-second song ends with Grande holding a sustained high note on the word “cried,” as if she’s embracing and then shedding the sadness implied in the song. The tune is a thematic harbinger, as Sweetener focuses on the power of reclamation. The title track describes a new significant other that mitigates life’s “bitter taste”; “God Is A Woman” obliterates stale stereotypes and preaches empowerment; and “Successful” champions the idea of women celebrating success and each other. Musically, Sweetener is Grande’s most diverse and enjoyable full-length yet, with her usual nods to ’90s pop and R&B augmented by things such as spectral electro slow jams (“Better Off”) and throwback hip-hop (the Missy Elliott-featuring “Borderline”). Confident and empowered, Sweetener illustrates once again that Grande is an unparalleled pop chameleon.
RIYL: ’90s R&B throwbacks. The adventurous vibe of early ’00s pop. Musical empowerment. Top 40 jams.
Start here: “Blazed,” which was produced by and features Pharrell Williams, is an early ’00s kaleidoscopic pop throwback with sizzling rhythms and layered harmonies. [Annie Zaleski]
Interpol, Marauder
[Matador]
Grade: B
Interpol goes big on Marauder, a booming, bass-heavy album seemingly designed to echo through the biggest, emptiest warehouse spaces possible. The album opens with an invigorating, hard-driving trio of songs: “If You Really Love Nothing,” which puts a swing on drummer Sam Fogarino’s backbeat that evokes Cheap Trick’s Bun E. Carlos; “The Rover,” an advancing tidal wave of a song; and “Complications,” which injects fat-bottomed bass into the group’s signature post-punk shimmer. The rhythm section remains at the forefront on songs like “Stay In Touch” and “Mountain Child.” Frontman Paul Banks says the album’s title refers to a younger, more reckless version of himself that “fucks up friendships and does crazy shit… this album is like giving him a name and putting him to bed,” and like a wild party, the album gets looser and less coherent as it goes along. Still, fans should be pleased to hear that Marauder shifts the group’s focus while still remaining recognizably Interpol.
RIYL: Albums that instruct the listener to play them at maximum volume in the liner notes.